If there’s any upside to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic—any at all—it may be that many aircraft cockpits are cleaner than they’ve ever been. As a direct result of the pandemic and related guidance from public health officials, it’s not a stretch to suggest that crewed, rental and fleet aircraft of all sizes and types are regularly undergoing disinfection procedures more often than ever before. Generally, that’s a good thing, of course, and something that makes us wonder what these cockpits harbored for their occupants before 2020.
Just as with so many procedures involving aircraft operations, there’s a right way and a wrong way to disinfect an aircraft cockpit. Since the pandemic, many aircraft and avionics manufacturers have published specific guidance for owners and operators looking for information on disinfectants and other chemicals, and their interaction with the aircraft and its equipment. One resource is an online list maintained by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), with links to related information from airframe and avionics makers. That list may be retrieved from GAMA’s web site at tinyurl.com/SAF-GAMA.
